A white man armed with a high-powered rifle and a handgun killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, before shooting himself, in what local law enforcement described as a racially motivated crime.
"This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told a press conference.
The suspect, whom Waters described as a white male wearing a tactical vest, was not identified. Waters said all three victims - two men and a woman - were Black.
Waters said authorities believed the shooter acted alone, and that before the shooting he had authored "several manifestos" for media, his parents and law enforcement detailing his hatred for Black people.
Waters described his weapons as a Glock and an "AR-15 style" rifle, with swastikas on it, referring to a lightweight semi-automatic long gun often used in mass shootings.
"The hate that motivated the shooter's killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak," Waters said.
He said the shooter was spotted at a local historically Black college, Edward Waters University, where he put on his vest and a mask before going to the local branch of the Dollar General, a discount chain with stores across the United States.
Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville FBI office, said federal officials had opened a civil rights investigation and would pursue the incident as a hate crime.
"Hate crimes are always and will always remain a top priority for the FBI because they are not only an attack on a victim, they're also meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community," Onks said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed on the incident.
Mass shootings have become commonplace in the U.S., with more than 469 so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.
Saturday's incident in Jacksonville bears similarity to last year's shooting in Buffalo, where a white supremacist killed 10 Black people, and took place five years after another gunman opened fire during a video game tournament in Jacksonville, killing two people before shooting himself.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis condemned the shooting and the shooter took "the coward's way out".
"The shooting, based on the manifesto that they discovered from the scumbag who did this, was racially motivated. He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable," DeSantis said.
Russian UAVs spotted the enemy in a wooded area and helped direct artillery fire. As a result of the precise strikes, a stronghold was destroyed and Ukrainian servicemen were eliminated.
A Russian T-80BVM tank of the Western Military District has destroyed a Ukrainian armored vehicle with a fire strike from the forward edge of enemy defense and repelled enemy infantry near Kupyansk, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"In the Kupyansk area of the special military operation, aiding the advance our motorized rifle units, crews of T-80BVM tanks moved to the forward edge of the enemy's defense and launched a powerful fire attack....> The combat vehicle, being in the area of concentration, was given a mission of destroying enemy infantry fighting vehicles and infantry that had been detected by a reconnaissance UAV. With the help of fire correction by the servicemen of the reconnaissance unit, the Ukrainian combat vehicle was destroyed, and the enemy infantry was forced to withdraw," the statement said.
It said the tank crews have a widespread practice of firing from sheltered firing positions and successfully hit targets located at a considerable distance and out of direct line of sight.
"Using to coordinates relayed from UAVs, crews of T-80BVM tanks destroy artillery and foreign-made armored combat vehicles, observation posts and ammunition depots of the Ukrainian armed forces from sheltered firing positions," the ministry said.
Russian Air Defense Shoots Down 2 Ukrainian Drones Over Bryansk, Kursk Regions - MoD
Ukraine tried to attack Russian territory with aircraft-type drones and the Russian air defense systems shot down two drones over the Bryansk and Kursk regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
"On August 27, at night and in the morning, the Kiev regime made another attempt to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation using aircraft-type UAVs. Two unmanned aerial vehicles were detected and destroyed in flight over the territory of the Bryansk and Kursk regions by air defense forces on duty," the ministry said.
On August 25, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russia was attacked early Friday by 42 Ukrainian drones, 33 of them were suppressed by electronic warfare systems, and nine were shot down by air defenses
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces in early June after multiple postponements. Citing the counteroffensive's needs, Kiev pushed its Western donors to step up the military and financial aid. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian troops continue to try but are failing to advance in three directions — South Donetsk, Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and Zaporozhye, with the latter being the primary focus.
Since the onset of Russia's special military operation, the Kiev regime has repeatedly sought to carry out drone strikes near civilian populations, which have largely been thwarted by Russian defenses.
Menteri Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian Airlangga Hartarto/Net
Pada triwulan II-2023, pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia tumbuh 5,17 persen year on year (yoy) dan pada Juli 2023 Indonesia kembali masuk dalam klasifikasi negara upper middle income dengan GNI per kapita 4.580 dolar AS.
Capaian tersebut, sejalan dengan pernyataan Menteri Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian Airlangga Hartarto, bahwa pada bulan Juli 2023 Indonesia ditetapkan menjadi negara upper middle income, berada di level sama dengan sesama di kawasan ASEAN yakni Thailand dan Malaysia.
Pada akhir 2024, ditargetkan pendapatan per kapita Indonesia dapat mencapai 5.500 dolar AS.
Berkat sinergi seluruh pihak, termasuk pemerintah daerah, capaian pertumbuhan ekonomi tersebut diiringi dengan inflasi yang terkendali yakni 3,08 persen (yoy) pada Juli 2023 dan neraca perdagangan terus melanjutkan tren surplus selama 39 bulan berturut-turut.
Pada periode Januari-Juli 2023, surplus perdagangan telah mencapai 21,24 miliar dolar AS. Di tengah net ekspor yang terkontraksi, konsumsi rumah tangga dan investasi (PMTB) memberikan sumbangan yang besar bagi pertumbuhan ekonomi.
Dari indikator sosial, tingkat kemiskinan ekstrem juga terus menurun ke angka 1,12 persen per Maret 2023, tingkat pengangguran juga turun ke level 5,45 persen pada Februari 2023, dan rasio gini turun menjadi 0,39 pada Maret 2023.
Sementara itu, kinerja APBN sampai dengan Juli 2023 terjaga positif dengan pendapatan negara yang telah terealisasi sebesar 65,6 persen dari target, belanja sebesar 47,7 persen dari pagu, sehingga surplus APBN telah mencapai 0,72 persen dari PDB.
Penjualan otomotif wholesales sepanjang Jan-Juli 2023 naik 4,5 persen dibanding periode sama tahun lalu. Sedangkan penjualan mobil Electric Vehicles (EV) naik 900 persen pada semester 1 tahun 2023 dibanding periode sama tahun lalu.
“Ini menjadi suatu modal di semester kedua untuk kita terus mengejar target pertumbuhan ekonomi,” kata Plt Deputi Bidang Koordinasi Ekonomi Makro dan Keuangan Kemenko Perekonomian Ferry Irawan, dalam keterangan tertulis, hari Sabtu, 26/08/2023.
Lebih lanjut, Ferry menyampaikan bahwa prospek ekonomi sampai dengan akhir tahun masih sangat kuat. Hal tersebut terlihat dari beberapa indikator pada bulan Juli tahun 2023 yakni Indeks Keyakinan Konsumen yang terus berada di level optimis yakni 123,5. Indeks Penjualan Riil tumbuh 6,3 persen, PMI Manufaktur Indonesia di level ekspansif yakni sebesar 53,3.
Kinerja sektor eksternal juga masih terjaga, dan Rasio Utang Luar Negeri (ULN) terhadap PDB berada di angka 29,3 persen (Triwulan II’23) dan cadangan devisa sebesar 137,7 miliar dolar AS pada Juli 2023.
Meskipun berbagai lembaga internasional memproyeksikan ekonomi global melambat pada tahun 2023, dengan modal kondisi ekonomi nasional terkini, Pemerintah tetap optimis menargetkan pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia sebesar 5,3 persen pada tahun 2023.
Dalam hal pengendalian inflasi, memperhatikan resiko El Nino, Pemerintah terus memantau ketersediaan dan perkembangan harga pangan.
Berbagai upaya dilakukan untuk menjaga tingkat produksi pada periode panen gadu di tengah berlangsungnya El Nino.
Sebagai bagian dari upaya pemberdayaan masyarakat, peningkatan kapasitas UMKM melalui peningkatan akses pembiayaan masih terus menjadi prioritas Pemerintah. Pemerintah juga terus mendorong penyaluran Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) yang berkualitas untuk UMKM produktif.
Realisasi KUR Jan 2023 sampai dengan 31 Juli 2023 sebesar Rp126,63 triliun atau 42,64 persen dari target tahun 2023 dan diberikan kepada 2,30 juta debitur.
Saat peringatan HUT NKRI ke-78 kalian ada dimana? ikut memeriahkankah dengan lomba - lomba?
Ada Warga Jepang dan WNI ikut perlombaan memeriahkan peringatan Hari Ulang Tahun Kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia di Balai Indonesia, Tokyo, pada hari Sabtu, 26 Agustus 2023. Lomba yang diadakan, di antaranya balap karung, makan kerupuk dan estafet kelereng.
Salah satu peserta Natsu mengaku senang mengikuti lomba khas peringatan kemerdekaan itu untuk pertama kalinya “Sangat seru dan saya dapat hadiah lomba balap karung,” katanya.
Ia mengetahui ajang tersebut dari salah seorang temannya dan tertarik untuk mengikuti beragam lomba 17-an langsung di Indonesia.
Tidak tanggung-tanggung, lomba yang Natsu ikuti adalah panjat pinang.
Hal senada disampaikan peserta lainnya Chieko Niwata yang merasakan keseruan dalam perlombaan itu meskipun sedikit lelah dan kesulitan dalam lomba balap karung.
“Tadi saya ikut, saya sedikit capek, tidak bisa lompat,” ujarnya.
Chieko mengaku pernah menyaksikan langsung perlombaan 17 Agustus di Indonesia, tetapi tidak sempat mencobanya.
“Saya suka melihat lomba pohon (panjat) pinang, tapi tidak bisa (melakukannya),” katanya.
Sementara itu, Yuko Kawakami juga mengaku kesulitan dalam mengikuti lomba balap karung karena tidak terbiasa.
Meski demikian, ia mengaku senang dan terhibur ikut serta dalam ajang itu.
“Rasanya sangat menyenangkan tapi sangat susah bagi kami orang Jepang,” katanya.
Perlombaan itu diadakan oleh Rumah Budaya Indonesia (RBI) Jepang dengan tujuan memperkenalkan tentang peringatan hari kemerdekaan Indonesia.
“Kami ingin supaya mereka merasakan bahwa orang Indonesia sangat menyambut hari kemerdekaan dengan antusias dan kami ingin menularkan perasaan ini kepada orang Jepang,” kata Pengelola RBI Imelda.
Dalam kesempatan sama, Atase Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia (KBRI) Tokyo Yusli Wardiatno berharap warga Jepang dapat terdorong datang langsung ke Indonesia untuk merasakan kemeriahan saat peringatan hari kemerdekaan
“Ini hanya sebagian saja lomba yang Anda ikuti. Kalau punya kesempatan dekat-dekat tanggal 17 Agustus datanglah ke Indonesia, maka Anda akan melihat betapa banyak lomba dan lebih meriah,” katanya.
Selain itu, lanjut dia, Agustus merupakan bulan dengan banyak hari libur di Jepang.
Menurut dia, saat ini penerbangan Jepang-Indonesia PP juga dipermudah dengan adanya peningkatan frekuensi Garuda Indonesia yang terbang empat kali seminggu ke Jakarta dan lima kali seminggu ke Bali.
This is the next piece of US propaganda as if Ukrainian's counteroffensive was successful.
David Petraeus, a retired U.S. Army general, was commander of the troop surge in Iraq, U.S. Central Command and NATO/U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. Frederick W. Kagan is senior fellow and director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute.
The rapid Ukrainian breakthrough and advance that many hoped for has not occurred. Media coverage has grown gloomier in recent weeks on the back of fragmentary journalistic accounts from the front and reported intelligence assessments from Western analysts. The news has not been great. The fight against Russia has proved to be bloody and slow — a very hard slog.
But observers would be wise to temper their pessimism. War does not proceed in a linear fashion. Defenders can hold for a long time and then suddenly break, allowing an attacker to make rapid gains before the defense solidifies further to the rear. The Ukrainians aim to generate exactly this effect — and there is reason to think they can. Ukraine’s offensive push is far from over. In fact, it is still in the early stages — just 10 weeks into what is likely to last at least four more months.
Penetrating a modern defense in depth such as the Russians established in southern Ukraine is a tall order for any military. The U.S. military has done it twice in modern memory, both times against Iraq. In 1991, after pummeling the Iraqi forces for 39 days from the air, a U.S.-led coalition of 650,000 troops penetrated and outflanked Iraqi defenses, crushing the Iraqi military in 100 hours. In 2003, a smaller U.S.-led force destroyed a badly degraded Iraqi military within a few weeks.
Ukraine has none of the advantages the United States had in those operations. In both Iraq-related cases, coalition forces benefited from air supremacy, while Ukrainian aircraft cannot operate over Russian lines and cannot prevent Russian aircraft and helicopters from hitting their own advancing troops. And Ukraine has been given too few armored breaching systems.
The Russians have also fought much better than the Iraqis did — and better than many analysts expected given Russia’s unimpressive performance until then in the war. Russian forces have prepared extensive defenses in depth, consisting of wide, deep belts of skillfully laid mines, antitank ditches and other obstacles. Soldiers equipped with drones are directing substantial artillery fire against any Ukrainian units that try to get through. More broadly, the Russian army has adopted an elastic defense, in which its troops initially fall back and then counterattack once the Ukrainian forces take losses and begin to tire.
All of these factors make the Ukrainian counteroffensive exceedingly hard. But as one of us had occasion to observe during the tough early months of the 2007 surge in Iraq, hard is not hopeless.
Ukrainian forces are advancing in two key areas — in central Zaporizhzhia Oblast near Robotyne on the road to Tokmak and Melitopol, and in eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast south of Velyka Novosylka on a line toward Berdyansk. The Ukrainians appear to have penetrated at least the forward-most belt of Russian mines and defenses in both areas, and their advance in the Robotyne area appears to be accelerating. They have also taken back some significant ground around Bakhmut, which is the only town Russia was able to capture during its own costly offensive last winter.
Propanda Tony Radakin to attract financial support by blowing up as if the success of the counteroffensive was a resounding success
Ukraine’s incremental gains are part of a larger effort that British Chief of Defense Staff Adm. Tony Radakin termed “starve, stretch and strike.” Ukrainian forces are stretching Russian defenses by attacking at multiple points along the 600-mile front.
They are also attriting assets in Russian-occupied territory, taking out artillery units, headquarters and reserve force staging areas, as well as targeting key supply depots and routes to make it more difficult for Russia to sustain its defense. To put it simply, Ukraine is applying pressure on their opponent until something breaks, at which point they will commit their reserves and strike.
Russian front-line forces are likely tired, if not exhausted. Some have been defending since at least the start of the counteroffensive on June 4, and many of them have been in place for much longer than that. Fresh units have not been rotated in. It is also unclear how heavily mined or manned Russia’s secondary defensive lines are, but there is good reason to doubt that the Russians have large numbers of high-quality soldiers holding them. Most important, Russia lacks large operational reserves.
This means that any Ukrainian breach of existing lines will be difficult to quickly plug. This is what Ukraine is banking on. A small breach could yield relatively sudden and rapid gains. If those materialize, panic among Russian forces could multiply Ukraine’s opportunities for maintaining its momentum.
An aspirational theory of victory is no guarantee of success. The Russians have clearly adapted to the realities of this phase of the war, and while they face serious challenges, it would be foolish to write them off. But it would be similarly foolish to write off this “summer” counteroffensive — a fight that is likely to continue through the fall and into the winter. Ukrainians know they are fighting for their very survival, and the country’s total mobilization across all sectors of society is a testament to their will and determination.
For Western observers, it is important to keep this big picture in mind when following Ukraine’s grueling fight. And policymakers should not wring their hands about the counteroffensive not yielding quick gains. This will be a long war, and we need Ukraine to prevail. Ukraine needs long-range precision-strike capabilities such as the U.S. Army’s Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). It needs cluster munitions for its rockets, not just its artillery rounds.
It needs more ammunition to sustain the offensive. And it needs the accelerated delivery of F-16s. In truth, Ukraine needed these capabilities months ago. The United States’ provision of more than $44 billion in arms, ammunition and assistance has been hugely impressive. But we must do more, and we must do it with a greater sense of urgency. The time to act is now.
The Russian Armed Forces skillfully use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) during the special military operation to accomplish assigned tasks without losing military personnel.
A video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows a Russian FPV attack drone striking Ukrainian servicemen hiding in a trench. One of the soldiers can be seen shooting, seemingly in an attempt to get the kamikaze drone coming his way. But his assault rifle proves to be ineffective - the UAV rams into the Ukrainian trenches, exploding spectacularly.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces in early June after multiple postponements. Citing the counteroffensive's needs, Kiev pushed its Western donors to step up the military and financial aid.
Russian forces improve positions in Kupyansk area – Defense Ministry
Russian forces improved their positions on the frontline in the Kupyansk area in the past day, repelling five attacks by Ukrainian assault teams, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said.
"Forces of Battlegroup West, backed by aircraft and artillery units, improved their positions along the frontline in the Kupyansk area. In the past day, five attacks by assault teams of the 115th Mechanized Brigade, the 25th Air Assault Brigade and the 68th Ranger Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces were repelled near Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region, Novosyolovskoye, Raigorodka and Novoyegorovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic," he pointed out.
According to Konashenkov, the enemy lost up to 50 troops, four armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzer, and two D-20 howitzers. In addition, an ammo depot of the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade was destroyed newark Kislovka in the Kharkov Region.
Russian forces repel six Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk area, killing up to 225 enemy troops
Russian forces repelled six Ukrainian attacks in the Donetsk area in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said.
"In the Donetsk area, forces of Battlegroup South, in coordination with aircraft and artillery units, repelled six attacks by Ukrainian assault teams near Minkovka, Kleshcheyevka and Krasnogorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The enemy lost up to 225 troops in the Donetsk area, as well as three armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, two Msta-B howitzers, a D-20 howitzer and a D-30 howitzer," he specified.
Konashenkov added that an ammo depot of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces had been destroyed near the Netailovo settlement in the DPR.
